A FeW CrAzIeS HeRe aNd tHeRe MaKe mE LaUgH :)

Sunday, October 12th

Started off this morning with the intentions of going to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, however, when I looked it up online, the only day out September – November that had an astrick next to it was today, saying that the change would be at 8:00am without ceremony or music… so as I discovered this at 9:00am, and we would definitely want to go to the ceremony, we devised a backup plan.

By 10:00 we left to go eat breakfast, and then Cody, Colin, and myself left for Speakers Corner, which I may add to another of the many unique experiences I have had here in Europe. At first we were a bit worried because there seemed to be some sort of marathon going on around Hyde Park, however, we found the area for the speakers, and as the afternoon continued, the talk got progressively more heated.

But first, a quick bit of history to help you understand what Speakers Corner is all about:
Public riots broke out in the park in 1855 in protest over the Sunday Trading Bill which forbade buying and selling on a Sunday, the only day working people had off. The riots and agitation for democratic reform encouraged some to force issue of the "right to speak" in Hyde Park. The Parks Regulation Act 1872 delegated the issue of permitting public meetings to the park authorities. Since then, it has been tradition for people to come to the park and speak their mind on Sunday afternoons, so long as it does not offend others.

The overall atmosphere in the park is set up in a paved corner, and people bring small ladders or ‘soap-boxes’ to stand on, and then speak their mind as to whatever they choose. It is interesting also evaluating the body language, and the way each person conducts themselves. Even to the thoughts about how simply stepping on a ladder, making oneself higher than the rest, presents that form of authority. Maybe I analyze situations too much, but this even goes back to the Romans, their statues, and ideals.

Anyway, the first speaker I came across when entering the park was discussing several ideas that I would begin to agree with, but then would say something completely contradictory, losing all credibility that I had given him from a previous statement. From the point where I walked in, he was discussing the intelligence of society, and different roles that people play in them. He talked about the philosophy of why daring, more exciting men are more appealing to women, and that only smart, intelligent women go for boring, smart, intelligent men. He also spoke about how ‘stupid people’ affect society and different ideals behind the ignorant and the intelligent. It was a rather unorganized approach, and I never really got the point to what he was saying because he also began attacks on women and their lack of intelligence and started generalizing all Muslims as terrorists. It was rather entertaining though, because a young man in the audience was getting rather offended by the speaker, and was attempting to argue back. However, it turned out to be more of a name calling match in which the little pansy looked like he was going to cry…

I moved on to a few other speakers, several of which were just trying to explore the possibility of converting everyone to their religion. One man was trying to convince us that all of our Gods are not real and that only the God of his particular religion is the true God. I have not studied all religions in incredible depth, but in Christianity in general, isn’t there one God, with the exception of different ideals from the Greeks, etc.? Plus the guy was rather crazy, standing on his ladder with sunglasses, eyes closed, and a rather odd composure about himself. After exploring a few of the other ‘religious crazies,’ we went on to some more heated debates that had developed as the afternoon progressed.

One area in particular was beginning to attract quite a bit of attention. This particular speaker was an older woman, wearing an old English dress, old heeled shoes, and held a hairstyle that looked as if she were from the era of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She began yelling and screaming and accusing everyone in the audience that there is neither a heaven or a hell and that our time here on earth is all that we have, so make the best of it. She was incredibly racist, and was directing personal attacks at many individuals. She told all the immigrants and tourists that they should go back to their own countries where they belonged and that they were ‘mere filth.’ She mocked several of the people in the audience with their comments directed back toward her, including two of the girls from our Wisconsin group. She had lots of nice things to say about Americans as well… An Irish woman behind me got in a heated debate with her as well, as the crazy woman was making many vulgar comments toward her homeland as well.

It turned into a rather comical scene, with everyone in the audience throwing silly comments at her contradictory, offensive speeches. There was one man in particular who had his own ladder and a sign for labor unions, who probably would have done some speaking if it weren’t for how preoccupied he was with her. He directed many comments at her, and provided us all with much comic relief as he kept egging her on with her own theories. Another old British man, wearing a sweater and slacks was a very funny character as well. I pictured him smoking a pipe, and reading books in a study in a fancy house if he were not here. He got quite a kick out of the woman, chuckling quite a bit and conversing with the people next to him, and you could tell he was a rather distinguished old man. I enjoyed seeing his comical reactions. We later discovered that the crazy woman wasn’t even from London, contradicting her entire theory herself.

After a while listening to this woman’s philosophies, I went over to another man who yelled aloud “Gather round everyone! I am going to talk to you about women and sex.” I was rather intimidated at first of the short little man and his fluffy little dog, so I made sure to have Colin stand next to me, as not to be singled out in his debate. The man went on with many philosophies as to why women should stay home to cook, clean, and other reasons… It was rather comical really. My absolute favorite part was when he addressed Colin and myself, realizing we were Americans. He talked back and forth with Colin a bit, and then delivered the absolute most hilarious theory I heard the entire day. Apparently, according to this man, the U.S. economy is doing so poorly because American women are taking out so many loans in order to have breast enhancement surgery, causing the banks to go bankrupt. He ended his speech with the fact that he comes here every Sunday to ‘bullshit’ people with crazy ideas as this. However, all the others were completely sincere in their madness…

I moved on to a few other speakers, and came across a giant cowboy wearing pants embroidered with the phrase “Jesus is Alive.” He spoke in long annunciated phrases with an incredibly raspy, hoarse voice. The man spoke about the ways of Allah and the Bible, and addressed his ‘Muslim Brethren’ in the crowd. At one point he sandwiched the book of Allah in the Bible in a dramatic scene, trying to prove his point. The man claimed he was drunk- drunk on Jesus… however I am not so sure what the clear liquid in his water bottle really was…

The final man that I listened to caught my attention by his announcement that he knew the cure to Cancer and the Aids virus. Several of us listened to his completely scattered theories, and his arguments with the audience, and by the end of the argument, we had narrowed down that the cure had something to do with a Martin & Spencer Suit and aerobic vs. aerobic disease. At one point, he actually said that injecting oxygen straight into your bloodstream would cure anything with these terminal diseases. I don’t know too much about medicine, but I’m pretty sure that would not help you any, unless of course you desired instantaneous death…

So, what did I learn from my experience at Speakers Corner? Basically, it proved a point I have explored for a long time. The world is filled with crazy people, and the ones that speak their mind in such ways are usually the ones who know nothing about what they are talking about, but want to get their voice out… usually making a fool of themselves.

Now, how can I translate that to the terms that I am going to write for my paper regarding my visit…? Well, I found Speakers Corner to be a very rewarding experience, as I found out how many crazies there are in the world and I feel so much more intelligent than I did before and feel thankful to be around other people who have a brain… no, try again…

Ok, Speakers corner proved to be a very rewarding experience. In my visit here, I was enlightened to many different ways of thinking, although most of them were absolutely absurd and irrational. Despite the heated arguments that broke out at times, I was rather surprised with how respectful people conducted themselves in speaking in turn and hearing everyone out (of course with the exception of the woman who told all of the tourists and immigrants to go back to where their homeland…). It was very comical to see absolutely crazy people speak so passionately about the completely illogical theories they felt so strongly about, and to see tourists and London residents alike conduct debates with them. It is sad to see that the original purpose of the corner has turned into silly debate such as this, but it proves the importance of free speech nonetheless, even if it is more of a venue for comic entertainment than nothing else.

Ok, a little better anyway...

After the most interesting experience at Speakers Corner, Cody, Colin and myself ate lunch and attempted to make our way over to Westminster Abbey for the 3:00 Evensong, however, due to delays on the tube, we didn’t make it in time and decided just to head back to ISH. I got some homework done and had quite a productive afternoon.

At dinner, I found out that none other than THE PACKER GAME would be broadcasted in the ISH bar that night at 9:15. I was so excited, as I haven’t seen a single game since the pre-season before I left for this trip. I came back for the game, and united with my fellow Wisconsinites to watch the greatness that is Green Bay football. Amazing! I love crazy Wisconsin people. : )

Note: After texting my brother Nick, I laughed quite a bit. I find it incredibly humorous that I was able to see the game broadcasted thousands of miles away from home, and he, merely 25 minutes from Green Bay, was unable to get any coverage… hm.

As the game started, I was super excited and decided that I needed to call Sally and let out some of my enthusiasm. It worked out perfect because she was waiting in an airport on the way back to St. Louis from New York from volleyball, so she had a little bit of time. I was talking a hundred miles a minute, but it was just really nice talking to her and hearing about how everything that was going on in her amazing volleyball career right now. (She is kinda a big deal in her amazing D1 volleyball awesomeness… she is far too humble to say it herself so I will say it here… she basically rocks at life and is absolutely leading the team in everything!)

The Packers won, and Donald Driver was amazing. It was a good nite.


And for your personal enjoyment... here is a wonderful excerpt from Speakers Corner:
Irish Woman vs. the Crazy